MADISON, Wis. — The first debate between U.S. Senator Ron Johnson and his challenger, Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, is set to take place Friday night in Milwaukee.
The debate is being organized by the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association Foundation. The WBA has been organizing debates for more than 30 years, broadcasting them on platforms across the state to help voters make informed decisions when casting their ballots.
The U.S. Senate debate will be moderated by Jill Geisler, with questions being asked by a panel of six journalists from every corner of the state, with additional research support and fact-checking provided by three additional journalists on the debate’s data team.
The debate will air live at 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 7 on several TV and radio stations across Wisconsin, including WISC-TV’s secondary channel Television Wisconsin, available on channel 3.2 over the air (Channel 14 for those with Spectrum cable). The debate will also be streamed live on Channel3000.com and the free Channel 3000+ connected TV and mobile streaming app.
The debate between Johnson and Barnes will be the first of three agreed-upon debates between the two candidates in one of the most closely-watched — and expensive — campaigns in the country.
The WBA is also organizing a debate between Gov. Tony Evers and Republican challenger Tim Michels the following week on Oct. 14, hosted by WISC-TV in Madison. As of now, that is scheduled to be the only debate between Evers and Michels before the election on Nov. 8.
